The Battle of the Cedars (May 1776) was a series of skirmishes early in
the American Revolutionary War in and around the Cedars, 45 km (28 mi)
west of Montreal, British North America. Continental Army units were
opposed by a small number of British troops leading militia, together
with indigenous forces (primarily Iroquois). Brigadier General Benedict
Arnold, commanding the American military garrison at Montreal, had
placed troops at the Cedars in April on rumors of British military
preparations. The garrison surrendered to a force led by Captain George
Forster, and reinforcements were captured the next day. All of the
American captives were eventually released in a prisoner swap agreement,
but the deal was repudiated by Congress, and no British prisoners were
freed. News of the affair included greatly inflated reports of
casualties, and often included graphic but false accounts of atrocities
committed by the Iroquois, who made up the majority of the British
forces.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Cedars>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1842:
A train derailed and caught fire in Paris, killing between 52
and 200 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Versailles_rail_accident>
1924:
Lithuania signed the Klaipėda Convention with the nations of
the Conference of Ambassadors, formally taking the Klaipėda Region
(German: Memelland) from East Prussia and making it into an autonomous
region under unconditional sovereignty of Lithuania.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaip%C4%97da_Convention>
1945:
A parade to celebrate the end of World War II turned into a
riot, followed by widespread disturbances and killings in and around
Sétif, French Algeria.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A9tif_and_Guelma_massacre>
1963:
In Huế, South Vietnam, soldiers of the Army of the Republic
of Vietnam opened fire into a crowd of Buddhist protestors against a
government ban on the flying of the Buddhist flag on Vesākha, killing
nine and sparking the Buddhist crisis.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hu%E1%BA%BF_Ph%E1%BA%ADt_%C4%90%E1%BA%A3n_shootings>
1987:
A British Army Special Air Service unit ambushed a Provisional
Irish Republican Army unit in Loughgall, Northern Ireland, killing eight
IRA members and a civilian.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loughgall_ambush>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
ululation:
The act of ululating; a long, loud, wavering cry or howl.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ululation>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Conservatism, though a necessary element in any stable society,
is not a social program; in its paternalistic, nationalistic and power
adoring tendencies it is often closer to socialism than true liberalism;
and with its traditionalistic, anti-intellectual, and often mystical
propensities it will never, except in short periods of disillusionment,
appeal to the young and all those others who believe that some changes
are desirable if this world is to become a better place.
--Friedrich Hayek
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Friedrich_Hayek>